My first scorpion with an interesting story......

Ok so here's the story.... I put up my first Christmas tree (since I bought a house) and asked all of my friends to make or buy me a Christmas ornament for my tree. Well last year my artsy friend made an ornament using a ball of epoxy, several razor blades, x-acto knife blades, and syringe needles. Needless to say you cannot touch that ornament. So anyway, this year he brought his ornament in a bag and when I reached in the bag to pull it out he said "Now be careful! Better yet, maybe I should get it out." and I replied "Oh no, is this one gonna hurt me too?" to which he replied " um...well......yeah." So he proceeds to reach into the bag and carefully pulls out a clear hamster/gerbil ball that's about the size of a softball. Inside that ball he had placed a moist substrate, a little moss, a coke bottle lid full of water, and best of all.......my very first scorpion. He even went so far as to provide a customized information booklet that he had made from info he pulled from the internet. So anyway, the hamster ball was tied with wire to a piece of garland that wrapped all the way around my Christmas tree like a sling so that the scorpion could be my ornament. I quickly learned that the little guy loved the heat off of the lights, so he thrived there for a few more days until I moved him to the enclosure you see below.
From what I have been told and have researched, he/she is an H. Spinifer and it's definitely juvenile. At this point I don't know if it's a boy or a girl so i'm just gonna refer to it as "he". He's only about 2 inches long max. When I put the driftwood piece in he immediately took shelter underneath it and since then I rarely see him unless I shine a blacklight under it or I lift the wood completely at which point he runs to find shelter elsewhere (which doesn't exist). I like to think that I've provided the ideal environment for the little guy but since this is my first, I'd be more than happy to take any suggestions or advice you guys might have. The tank does have a heat pad on the backside of it and the false bottom provides plenty of humidity. He's been eating well so I hope I'm doing everything right.
A couple questions I have are.... is it normal to NEVER see him? and will he come out more as he grows and gets older? I understand that they like to hide but it would be nice if I could watch him eat or explore his territory. Oh well.
Like I said, I'll be glad to accept any advice or suggestions, hope I didn't bore you with my story Thanks for reading!

Enclosure only...(he's under the piece of wood)



Under blacklight

very cool story for getting your first scorp! so very cool, im in awe and have nothing else to add except why didnt i think of it? btw, that is one cool enclosure for a scorp, most unique ive seen

Whitey wrote:

is it normal to NEVER see him?

Yes.

Quote :

will he come out more as he grows and gets older?

Not a whole lot.

Also, he's less likely to come out when the lamp is turned on.

Thanks everyone! I picked that enclosure up from a craft store because I wanted something that blended in to my home decor a bit more than a rectangular terrarium. I'm thinking about buying another one and housing a desert scorp.

Anyway thanks for answering my questions. Those were the answers I expected and I'm cool with that. I keep him in a room with no windows and very little light even when the overhead lights are on. The lamp you see behind him is only turned on when I need to fill the water and such.

looking good

I'm digging that glass bowl. I'll check out a crafts store near me for something like that, looks awesome and not to mention it can't get out

Yeah the bottom of the bowl is a lot flatter than it looks in the picture so there's no chance of it tipping over. I kinda doubt you have Hobby Lobby stores out in So. Cal but that's where I bought it just in case.

Agreed very nice enclosure... Just some thoughts...

Assuming your scorpion is indeed a Heterometrus... the gender and actual species will difficult to confirm until it fully matures... around the 8th molt...

You might want to put a lid with a couple of vent holes, for humidity... Ideally, you should have the substrate moist but not flooded... a good indicator of the right conditions is sustained water condensation on the glass... this way, your scorpion will develop appropriately and will have less difficulties when molting.....

P.S. a desert setup in a bowl like that will be excellent. but for that you won't need a lid and you can keep it on the dry side...

The picture of someone sitting on that black leather arm chair with two globes in each hand: one tropical and one arid is truly enterprising

Cheers
Best regards

Thanks for the advice! You're right though, determining sex and confirming species is near impossible at this point.

I try to keep the substrate moist but as you said it certainly wouldn't hurt to put a lid on with a few holes to hold the moisture in. I'll make a disk to sit on top made out of some thick plexiglass or lexan.

I bought another bowl today for my desert setup Anyone have any advice on an ideal desert scorpion? I'm drawn toward a Babycurus Jacksoni simply because my first name is Jackson.......but I must admit that I haven't researched them very much. I'm obviously just getting into the scorpion scene and none of my friends have pets even remotely similar to these.

Anyway thanks again for the suggestions!

Adding water to the substrate is always a better way to retain humidity than restricting ventilation.

B. jacksoni are mid-range as far as humidity goes. For a first-time desert scorp in a smaller container, I'd suggest a Vaejovis sp.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

Adding water to the substrate is always a better way to retain humidity than restricting ventilation.

True that . I was just thinking, cos after awhile, my hand tires with the amount of tanks I have and not to mention the sizes.... But still they dry out pretty fast, even though I'm in Malaysia... so in a colder temperate climate, I would think that could be more severe.

When my tropical tanks look on the dry side, even I start to feel parched lol...

Similarly, I can use up a large mineral water bottle just to hydrate one of my 4ft enclosures.

My first desert species was a 'the' HOT... one that requires serious consideration before contemplating to buy... I wasn't spoiled for choice... but yea I suppose Vaejovis would be a good choice...

Cheers,

Looking foward to your updates

If all else fails I am getting myself a nice looking fish bowl

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the input. You guys are really good with dealing with noobs.... I know how monotonous the same ol' questions can get.

I'll update the thread with pictures once I get a new scorp in his new home here. I plan on taking your advice and going with a vaejovis sp.

Cool idea.

That is super cool looking